quote:
PORT ISABEL — “The bridge is higher than I thought.” Those might possibly be the last words of convicted Brownsville attorney Ray Marchan, speaking to a taxi cab driver as he exited the cab and dived to his death from the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge early Thursday morning.
The cab driver said he had not anticipated Marchan’s actions and expressed disbelief in an interview with The Brownsville Herald just hours after Marchan dove from the rail and into the Laguna Madre to his death.
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/article_e504df72-8226-11e2-b3ee-0019bb30f31a.html
I knew Ray and it hurts me for his kids that he did this. In death as in life he was a weak, petty, and slimy man. Very selfish and spoiled not to mention pampered and a constant feeling of him being above the law.
While I am on the topic of slimy and crooked ironically that Rosenthall dude was convicted up in Corpus yesterday. Some friends of mine in the Mexican government related some nauseating stories about this guy and his quest for clients in Mexico to sue in the U.S..
Couple of notes on how big a turd Ray really was. Back in the early 90's Ray had purchased a 47' Hatteras named the Pichora, all with ill gotten gains. One morning when he and his crew were headed out WFO in the predawn dark they ran straight over a Mexican fishing panga that was sitting there. It blasted into shards the small boat and luckily the occupants got out. Ray & crew did stop and render aid and pick the guys up. But Ray never radioed the USCG and proceeded back to port. Along the way he called someone, presumably at his office, and when they docked a few hours later they were there with waivers waiting to be signed. THEN Ray reported the incident to the USCG.
Another time, a long time ago had to be late 80's, a buddy and I were at the Quaterdeck in the old Hilton/Radisson on Sunday night as it was the happening place on Sundays. Well we are in there and we start hitting on, due to the might as well try attitude, on two really gorgeous chicks that look kinda lost. These chicks actually start talking to us and are friendly. Wow, this was odd.
We ask these chicks to leave and go somewhere else and they are a little uncertain about it. They ask us if we can take them to the Harlingen airport the next day. At that point in time we would have agreed to taking them to the Hollywood airport. They tell us give us a few minutes and we will go. They end up going up front to where the band is and sitting down at a table, but we are back by the bar and can't really see. We think we have been blown off.
After about a beer or so, I decide to walk up there and see what's the haps or not the haps. As I get up there I see these chicks at a table with none other than Ray Marchan and Dr.Victor Leal. For those either not from the RGV or too young, Victor Leal was found dead, shot repeatedly in the head with a pellet gun, tied to a lawn chair with a crab pot behind his house in PI. He also sank a 50' Bertram with Ruben Hinojosa's older brother on it for insurace claims. He is also named as an informant against the old school Gulf Cartel. I digress, but he was a bad man.
Back to the chicks, one of the chicks see's me and gives me the two finger "little bit" sign. I nod OK, and return to my spot at the bar. Well about two minutes later here they come hustling towards us saying "let's go, let's go". We do "let's go" and we did have a great time that night.
As it turns out the two girls, just a few years older than us, were "aspiring actresses" from Vegas that were on a 3 day all expenses and fees paid talent evaluation with Dr. Leal. As they figured we were no threat kids kinda like them, they opened up us. Apparently Leal and Marchan and some others had spent the weekend doing copious amounts of blow and pills, to the point of non-functional paranoia and madness. The chicks were none to pleased to be around them any longer as it was a bad deal. Hence they had gotten some more money from the guys and were outta there.
It was a neat time for my buddy and I, the Vegas Pro's were actually fun girls when they got to go non professional persona. All it cost us was gas to HRL and pizza from the D'Pizza Joint. Funny thing though, they never offered to pay for a thing the whole night and next day
At the end of the day, the wages of sin is death, and I feel sorry for Ray's family, but not Ray. He got what he deserved and what came to light about him was a fraction of his crookedness and sleazyness. Amazing that as a professional group attorneys will not police themselves better.
